3 Locusts came down out of the smoke upon the earth, and they were given the same kind of power that scorpions have.
4 They were told not to harm the grass or the trees or any other plant; they could harm only the people who did not have the mark of God's seal on their foreheads.
5 The locusts were not allowed to kill these people, but only to torture them for five months. The pain caused by the torture is like the pain caused by a scorpion's sting.
6 During those five months they will seek death, but will not find it; they will want to die, but death will flee from them.
7 The locusts looked like horses ready for battle; on their heads they had what seemed to be crowns of gold, and their faces were like human faces.
8 Their hair was like women's hair, their teeth were like lions' teeth.
9 Their chests were covered with what looked like iron breastplates, and the sound made by their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots rushing into battle.